Second; 1567–1568Saint-Denis; Chartres Third; 1568–1570Jarnac; La Roche-l'Abeille; Poitiers; Orthez; Moncontour; Saint-Jean d'Angély; Arney-le-Duc Fourth; 1572–1573Mons; Sommières; Sancerre; La Rochelle Fifth; 1574–1576Dormans Sixth; 1577La Charité-sur-Loire; Issoire; Brouage Seventh; 1580La Fère War of the Three Henrys (1585–1589)Coutras; Vimory; Auneau; Day of the Barricades Succession of Henry IV of France (1589–1594)Arques; Ivry; Paris; Château-Laudran; Rouen; Caudebec; Craon; 1st Luxembourg; Blaye; Morlaix; Fort Crozon Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598)2nd Luxembourg; Fontaine-Française; Ham; Le Catelet; Doullens; Cambrai; Calais; La Fère; Ardres; Amiens The siege of Orléans was the final key military engagement of the first French War of Religion.

François, Duke of Guise, the only non captive royal commander, moved to lay siege to the town, hoping its capitulation would bring about a total victory for the crowns forces.

After François, Duke of Guise perpetrated the massacre of Vassy, Louis, Prince of Condé vacated Paris, where he and his followers had been based, intent on rebellion.

[6] She proposed the Triumvirate would be deprived of office, without need for the Huguenots to disarm, and that the crowns forces would remain under the exclusive control of Condé's brother, Antoine of Navarre.

[7] The military decided on a dual approach, with the main body marching on Orléans, intending to pin the rebel army into the city, while provincial commanders who had raised their own forces independently of the crown, would clear the area around Paris.

[7] Condé conscious that the large amount of cavalry he had at his disposal would only hinder his efforts of resisting a siege, instead decided to disperse his forces, scattering his army across northern France.

[8] Despite their numerical inferiority, the rebels had not been dormant, and a detachment of several thousand mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire had been recruited under François de Coligny d'Andelot, who now in October, re-entered the country at their head.

[9] The royal army, tied down besieging Rouen, was frustrated by this development, and instructed Saint André to intercept them, using the screening forces around Orléans to block their connection with the main rebel headquarters.

[9] With these troops in hand, Condé could now plot a more forward strategy, and in November, he re-constituted the rebel army in full in the city for a quick push on Paris, rapidly advancing out of Orléans.

[14] This left Guise in total control of the crowns war effort, and whilst the queen mother, Condé and Montmorency pushed for a negotiated settlement, he sough a final triumphant victory at Orléans.

[14] In recognition of his uncontested supremacy of the military, he was made Lieutenant General of the kingdom, a post formally occupied by the deceased Navarre, three days after the battle.

[20] The crowns tight finances had left his units in a poor state, forced to live off the land, lodging in the homes belonging to nearby villagers, and having to forage many km away for supplies.

[24] The duke was returning to his lodgings from the suburb for the evening, on his way he had to cross a small stream, and the ferry had limited capacity, meaning that by the time he got close to his tent, he was almost alone.

[28] The combination of the revival of Huguenot fortunes in the Norman campaign, with the crumbling of authority once more in the south west of France around La Rochelle and Guyenne which had earlier been subdued by the seigneur de Montluc and the death of the duke of Guise pushed the crown towards seeking a negotiated settlement.

[30] They met the same day on the Île aux Bœufs to discuss peace, and, having established satisfactory terms between them the Edict of Amboise received the royal assent on 19 March.

[26] From Normandy Coligny would protest strongly on 12 March, asserting that he had hired Poltrot merely as a spy to investigate the dukes camp, and that the murder plot was thus clearly his initiative.